A Nigerian Sharia court freed a mother of five who...

A Nigerian Sharia court freed a mother of five who had been sentenced to death by stoning for adultery in a judgement by a lower Muslim court in October 2001 that sparked international outrage.
The case of 35-year-old Safiya Hussaini Tungar-Tudu also inflamed religious tempers in Africa's most populous nation, where hundreds have died in ethnic and religious bloodletting in recent years. Non-Muslims oppose sharia because of its tough sanctions.
The sharia appeal court in the northern city of Sokoto overruled the lower court on procedural grounds and because Hussaini had been convicted under a law that did not exist when the alleged offence was committed.
"All the procedure of the original court was wrong," said one court official, in a ruling that had been widely expected to go in favour of Hussaini.
"Today I am happy. I thank God," a delighted Hussaini told reporters as she cradled her one-year-old daughter.
Husaini's lead lawyer, Abdulkadir Imam Ibrahim, said: "I am very happy with this judgement. I am happy for the judges, for human rights and the international community."
Fearing international isolation, Nigeria's government recently ordered states applying the strict Islamic sharia law to modify harsh sanctions such as stoning to death for adulterers and the severing of hands for theft. The European Union urged Nigeria to fully respect human rights and dignity -- referring to women in particular. Rights group Amnesty International submitted a petition of more than 600,000 signatures of people opposed to the stoning death sentence on Hussaini.
Sokoto State's governor told a news conference that Monday's ruling was "a vindication of the sharia legal system."
"We believe in the ability of the sharia court to discharge and dispense justice to all and sundry," said Attahiru Bafarawa, blaming pressure from human rights groups for prolonging the case and saying they needed a better understanding of sharia.
Germany Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer said Hussaini's acquittal was a "victory for justice and humanity"."We still need to mount more pressure against the use of sharia in criminal matters in this modern age and time."